Covenant    by Dean Crawford Order:  USA  Can Touchstone, 2011 (2011) Hardcover, e-Book Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Bob Walch British novelist Dean Crawford makes his debut with this thriller. The story begins in the Negev Desert in Israel with archaeologist Lucy Morgan's discovery of the find of a lifetime. 'Within the rocks was carved a tomb of immense antiquity, partially exposed by tools wielded in someone's patient grasp, and in the tomb were bones.' These weren't just any old bones. They were centuries old and belonged to a creature over eight feet in length. And, as Lucy realizes, these are not the remains of a human. 'Homo sapiens – modern man – had been believed for millennia to be the only intelligent species of life in the universe. Now Lucy's discovery had extinguished that fallacy as brutally and instantly as man's first fires had banished the darkness ... Here were the remains of an unknown species, immensely powerful in stature and yet seven thousand years old. Bigger. Stronger. Smarter.' Before she can broadcast her earthshaking discovery, Lucy disappears. Since the American and Israeli governments are unwilling to launch much of a search for the missing woman, Lucy's mother and Ethan Warner, a former military man, begin searching for her. The promise of the bones' genetic material providing enough DNA so that scientists could discover what this creature was and where it possibly came from launches quite a power struggle. Of course, there's a major conspiracy at work here that involves a number of interest groups from governmental to religious and they all want the same thing ... knowledge of the secrets of alien life and the power it will offer. Perhaps its premise is a bit of a stretch, but this story offers so much fast paced action that you will be flipping pages and reading long into the night. Thus you probably won't question how authentic the plot is. That is definitely a good thing so don't question it! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews